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Startco bets on Memphis to become a 'venture city'

April 17th, 2014

Startco is propelling startups toward success by providing investor dollars, experienced mentors, and the discipline required to launch a company. Founder and Co-President Eric Mathews talks about what Memphis has to offer entrepreneurs, and what Startco has to offer the city's new economy.

Eric Mathews talks fast. Then again, he’s got a lot to say. From window-lined offices on the second floor of 88 Union Ave., he has a high vantage point of Main Street but remains close enough to almost read the faces that pass on the sidewalks below. Which is fitting, as his job as CEO and co-president of Startco is, more or less, to read people as they're moving forward.

Startco is described as "part venture development group, part accelerator, and all work." The group is focused on turning ideas into effective Memphis companies through access to mentors, investors and communal facilities. Startco has partnered with Jumpstart America, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio to turn Memphis into a "venture city." The company facilitates four different business start-up accelerators, each with its own brand and national presence: the Seed Hatchery for IT start-ups; Upstart for women-led ventures; Sky High for social innovation; and SparkGap for logistics technology.

How it WorksThe accelerators run simultaneously, but mentoring and resources are customized to the sector-specific needs. It is a three-step process, says Mathews: "Money, mentoring, and marine style boot camp." Once the six teams, or cohorts, are accepted into a program they are given $15,000 in investor money and access to all the mentoring they can handle. Partner firms like Baker Donelson, archer>malmo, Mosaik, and The Marston Group provide resources and mentoring in legal, marketing, technology, and financial areas. All in all, Startco has about 150 mentors contributing their "collective intelligence" to the 24 cohort teams (representing some 60 to 70 entrepreneurs), utilizing common co-work space, and about 80 accelerator alumni. "Collective intelligence is focused like light in a magnifying glass on these start-ups," Matthews says. Click here for full article.